n this instance was the king himself. In the gateway
were rooms for the porter, and other persons employed about the
garden, and, probably, the receiving room for visitors, whose abrupt
admission might be unwelcome; and at the back a gate opened into the
vineyard. The vines were trained on a trellis-work, supported by
transverse rafters resting on pillars; and a wall, extending round it,
separated this part from the rest of the garden. At the upper end were
suites of rooms on three different stories, looking upon green trees,
and affording a pleasant retreat in the heat of summer. On the outside
of the vineyard wall were placed rows of palms, which occurred again
with the _dom_ and other trees, along the whole length of the exterior
wall; four tanks of water, bordered by a grass plot, where geese were
kept, and the delicate flower of the lotus was encouraged to grow,
served for the irrigation of the grounds; and small _kiosks_ or
summer-houses, shaded with trees, stood near the water, and overlooked
beds of flowers. The spaces containing the tanks, and the adjoining
portions of the garden, were each enclosed by their respective walls,
and a small subdivision on either side, between the large and small
tanks, seems to have been reserved for the growth of particular trees,
which either required peculiar care, or bore a fruit of superior
quality.

[Page Decoration]

[Illustration: Painted by Edwin Long, A.R.A.
Engraved & Printed by Illman Brothers
EGYPTIAN FEAST.
FOR THE MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITY]

[Page Decoration]

EGYPTIAN WEALTH.

That the riches of the country were immense is proved by the
appearance of the furniture and domestic utensils, and by the great
quantity of jewels of gold and silver, precious stones, and other
objects of luxury in use among them in the earliest times; their
treasures became proverbial throughout the neighboring states, and a
love of pomp and splendor continued to be the ruling passion of the
Egyptians till the latest period of their existence as an independent
state.

The wealth of Egypt was principally derived from taxes, foreign
tribute, monopolies, commerce, mines, and above all from the
productions of a fruitful soil. The wants of the poorer classes were
easily satisfied; the abundance of grain, herbs and esculent plants,
afforded an ample supply to the inhabitants of the valley of the Nile,
at a trifling expense, and with little labor; and so much corn was